Double Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Champion Colin Turkington
still has hopes of a fairytale end to Subaru's debut season in the
series at Brands Hatch next weekend (1/2 October), despite scoring
just ten points in the opening three events.

Colin's Subaru was only completed 24 hours before the
season-opener at Brands Hatch and the team was forced to withdraw
from the Thruxton event, effectively missing the opening third of
the season. "If you'd told me at the start of the year that I would
go into Brands Hatch with a mathematical chance after those first
three meetings, there's no way I'd have believed you," the
Ulsterman said.

"All credit to the team for working hard and not giving up and
to go into the final 37 points behind is remarkable really. I'm
really pleased that I've still got a chance."

There's a precedent here for Colin; in 2013 he returned to the
championship after a three-year sabbatical in a brand new BMW
1-Series, and entered the final event at Brands Hatch with a shot
of the title: "Yes, similar feelings really, obviously 37 points is
a lot to make up in one race weekend. Realistically my chances are
mathematical, but still I'll go there to give it my best shot, it's
not in me to give up until I'm told otherwise!

"Certainly this season has mirrored 2013 in the inconsistencies;
you have tracks where the car works really well and others where it
requires a bit more thought and it's more difficult, but what we're
doing is building a platform for next year. We've done that quite
successfully; all the gremlins are gone, we have a consistently
fast car at most tracks now. The package will only get better the
longer we have with it and the more we refine it, so it's exciting
to think what lies ahead."

Colin expects no favours from team-mate and fellow contender
Jason Plato, but then he doesn't see this as a disadvantage. "All
through the season it's been every man for himself and the good
thing is it's that way for everybody going into Brands as there's
two sets of team-mates in the top eight. Nobody is going to be
helping anybody because everybody believes that they have a chance
to win.

"I'm satisfied with the huge leaps we've taken the car through
the season, that's been a job well done for the whole team and I've
had three race wins and a couple of pole positions, but I want to
close out the season really strongly. It's not just Jason I'm
worried about finishing in front of, I want to finish as high up as
I can.

Brands Hatch could be the perfect place to end Subaru's debut
BTCC season on a high, and it's one that Colin enjoys, not least
because he won both his titles here. "The Grand Prix circuit is a
real flowing track," he said. "I think we will be strong there;
there's no reason why not, particularly in the second half of the
lap where you're carrying a lot of momentum and you require good
chassis balance. I think that's where we should excel, so I'm
looking forward to a really good competitive weekend."